After the 1870s, therefore, the character of colonialism changed. As a result of
the Congress of Berlin (the Berlin Congo Conference) in 1884–5,Wrst France,
and then Britain, left aside imperial consolidation in favour of expansionism,
a policy that characterized the last two decades of the century (Baumgart 1982:
51, 180). Of all the imperial powers Britain was most successful, creating the
largest empire based on a network of colonies in all continents, some of which
had already been in place for a long time: Canada and Belize in America; India
and neighbouring regions in Asia; Australia and New Zealand in the PaciWc;
and from South Africa to Egypt in Africa. In addition, it had protectorates such
as Cyprus from 1878, and Egypt was occupied from 1882. The French Empire
mainly expanded in Asia (Indochina), Africa (the Maghreb, western and
Equatorial Africa), and regions in America and the PaciWc. Germany, Italy
and Belgium also added to the colonial feast with possessions mainly in Africa.
Finally, countries such as Russia, the United States and, from the last years of
the century, Japan also expanded into neighbouring territories.
COLONIALISM IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA:
A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTIONBefore the arrival of the Europeans, Southeast Asia was an area politically
divided into many kingdoms. 3 As explained in Chapter 7, it was the expan-
sion of the Ottoman Empire in theWfteenth and sixteenth centuries, especially
its control of the trade routes used during medieval times to import Oriental
goods into Europe, that fostered the colonization of Southeast Asia by
Portugal and Spain. The Portuguese occupied the Moluccan Islands in Indo-
nesia and were thus able to recommence trade by sailing round Africa. In their
search for an alternative route, America was discovered by the Spaniards, who
wereWnally (through Mexico) able to reach the PaciWc and establish a colony
in Manila (the Philippines) in 1565. Other European countries would join this
lucrative trade: Britain, Holland, France, Denmark, and Sweden founded East
India Companies in 1600, 1602, 1664, 1670, and 1731 respectively, leading to
the establishment of areas of inXuence from which to control their businesses.
During the nineteenth century, the main players in South and Southeast
Asian colonialism were Britain, Holland, and France. The British East India
Company began to control parts of India, as well as, from 1786, Penang in
Malaysia. Both Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and Malacca (in Malaysia)
were ceded to the British by the Dutch in 1796 and 1824 respectively. In the
3 A good history of the colonization of the area is found in Kiernan (1995: chs. 2 and 3).South and South East Asia 213